The present invention relates to a medical pillow which is extremely useful in post operative care of patients who have undergone open heart and/or abdominal type surgery. The medical pillow allows the patient to place a flat and firm object against the patient's chest and gently grip, hold and/or pull the pillow against the chest while allowing the patient to cough, as desired or as required, and thereby bring up phlegm for expectoration. This is a voluntary "exercise" which for proper recuperation by the patient is performed to clear the lungs. The medical pillow is provided with a central chest contacting portion which is intended to be placed flush on the chest of the patient. The pillow is also provided with side or laterally extending wing portions which extend around the side of the patient and are held thereagainst by the upper portions of the patient's arms. The forearms of the patient are then folded across his or her front and the hands are placed within an open ended sleeve so that the patient can easily grip, hold and/or pull the chest pillow against his or her chest and thereby facilitate the voluntary coughing and subsequent patient expectoration of phlegm to clear the lungs or simply the pillow serves to relieve the pain associated with post operative care.
In addition, the pillow can be flipped over, i.e., turned upside down so that the otherwise neck contacting surface of the chest contacting portion (when the pillow is used subsequent to open heart surgery) is placed between the wearer's legs and the otherwise chest contacting surface (when the pillow is used after open heart surgery) is placed against the abdominal area of the patient. In this use of the medical pillow, the cut-out portions of the laterally extending side wings now conform over the patient's legs. Thus the pillow is placed against the abdominal area of the patient with the wings held against the patient's sides or hips to again relieve or alleviate the pain associated with post-operative surgery, in this case, abdominal surgery. Again, the patient's hands can be slid within the open ends of the sleeve to facilitate the placement, holding and gripping of the cardiac pillow against the selected area of the patient.
In addition, the medical pillow has yet another post operative use. Subsequent to the operation and after minimum of recuperation in the hospital, the patient can more comfortably and, certainly less expensively, fully recover at home. To facilitate transportation of the patient, either from hospital to home, home to wherever, etc. The patient can place the pillow against his or her chest or abdominal area (depending on the surgical operation performed) to provide additional cushioning within an automobile or other vehicle. The sleeve of the medical pillow is adapted to have the free end of the seatbelt pass therethrough and the seat belt can then be connected or buckled to the fixed point or hold down position of the vehicle. In this manner, the pillow is held over the patient's chest and an additional cushioning layer is provided to the patient which, again, provides relief to the patient; allows him to travel without fear and yet the pillow is held in relative position by the seatbelt passing through the open ended sleeve. The medical pillow has many other uses which should be readily apparent.